Metal theft, particularly copper theft but also aluminum, zinc, nickel and bronze theft is a growing problem. As the price for these metals escalates, they have become a target of thieves worldwide. Thieves are risking their lives and others' for metal. Thieves yank down live power lines and remove grounding wires from electrical substations, rail lines and wind farms. They steal wire from new housing and business park construction sites, or sometimes from existing houses. In many of these cases, they'll leave behind thousands of dollars in damage to extract a few hundred dollars' worth of metal.
Copper wire has been removed from utility poles, costing utility companies and their customers. Copper theft is expensive, causes power outages and if live electrical wires are exposed, children and pedestrians could suffer severe injuries or even death. In addition, because of these thefts, roadways and several major intersections have been made less safe for drivers and pedestrians because of the lack of lighting. The utility has to order new copper wire, wait for it to be delivered and then wait for available crews to re-install the copper wires. Copper theft is creating a dangerous situation and costing the state and taxpayers thousands of dollars that could otherwise be used on repaving highways, fixing potholes and a number of things.
The thieves are stealing the copper wiring from inside the utility poles. The utility poles typically comprise a pole shaft with an access opening in the wall thereof to permit authorized personnel access to the wiring for maintenance, repair and other services. The access opening is typically rectangular. Unfortunately, thieves pull the copper wires out through the access opening. The access opening is typically covered by a locking cap secured by a center screw. Thieves and vandals have been able to simply remove the center screw and locking cap to gain access to the wiring. Attempts to deter thefts and vandalism with prior art locking devices have not been entirely successful.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a novel locking cap and method which substantially prevent the theft of metal wiring from utility poles. There is also a need for a novel locking cap which is of simplified and sturdy construction, easy to install and that is substantially stronger, sturdier, and more secure than prior art locking devices. There is a still further need for a novel locking cap and method which are specifically designed to cover the access opening on a utility pole in a simple, straightforward, and effective manner to prevent unauthorized access to the wiring. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.